Book support



June 28, 1932.

B. E. DAH LGRE N Filed Nov. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jame 28, 1932 B. E.DAHLGREN BOOK SUPPORT Filed Nov. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j I huge/fifor 716 d y/e22 $74K I orwgy Patented June 2 8, 1932 UNirEn stares BRORERIC imnnenniv, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Book sorrow Application filedNovember 8, 1928. Serial N0. 317,920.

The present invention relates tobook supports of the type which includea desk or rest for the book, a shelf near the bottom of the desk forengaging the lower edge of the book and a clip positioned adjacent tothe shelf and operative to engage the opposing leaves of an opened bookupon the desk.

One object of-the invention is to provide a new arrangement of theseparts such that the 10 clip may occupy an opened position directlybeneath the shelf and in being moved to that position will swing clearof any table or fiat support upon which the device may be standing atthe time.

Another object is to so position the desk and clip relative to eachother and to so construct the clip that books of different thicknessesopened indifferently at any page shall be held in the desired position.The clip I 90 preferred for this purpose has a central shank andoppositely extending prongs all composed of extremely flexible metal.The ends of these prongs engage the opposing leaves of the open book.Not only do theprongs yield but there is also a torsional yield in theshank itself, all of which causes the clip to adjust itself to thedifferent requirementsof an open book upon the support. The clip alsohas a plurality of set positions to which the movable member of the clipmay be moved bodily and therein yieldingly held, said positions beingspaced different distances from the face of the desk. The setting of theclip in these different positions combined with the flexibility of theshank and prongs of its movable element gives a wide range of adjustment Whichis sufficient to care. for books of widely varyingthickness when open on the support at any page.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be morefully understood upon reference to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the scope oftheinvention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. v

In said drawings Fig. l is a perspective view of a book support of thetype mentioned constructed and arranged in accordance with the presentinvention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a perspectiveView of the movable member of the'clip; Fig. 4.- is a perspective viewofthe fixed member of the clip; Fig. 5 is a central vertical section ofthe entire structure showing the movable clip member in its extremeclosed position in full lines and in itsv extreme open position indotted lines; Fig. 6' is a similar View of the shelf and associated clipshowing the latter in a second closed position; and Fig. 7 j is a bottomplan view of the'fixed member of the clip secured to the under side ofthe shelf. Throughout these views like characters refer to like parts. V

Referring to said drawings. in detail, A 05 designates the desk or restfor the book B, O the shelf upon which the edge of the book rests, D theleg or brace for the desk A, and E the clip by which the book is heldopen on the desk.

The desk A is formed of two pieces 10 and 11 joined together at an angleand cut away on their under sides so as to provide legs 12 and 13. Thematerial of the pieces 10 and 11 is preferably wood, although the samemay be metal if desired. The face of the desk A is provided near itslower end with the shelf C which is preferably composed of the samematerial as the desk A. The shelf 0 is angular along its. rearedge andfits snugly against the portions 10 and 11 .of the desk A. The shelf 0is secured to the desk A by any suitable means. It will be seen that thebook B upon the desk'A rests with its two covers against the members 10and 11 and its lower edges upon the shelf C. The latter stands forwardof the desk A for some little distance so as to provide suitable spacefor engaging the'leaves of the book- The third point of support of thestructure is provided by the leg or post D. The latter is. composed ofwood or metal and may be made artistic in contour so as I to add inbeauty to the device, the present drawings showing metal. The foot l iof the brace D will ordinarily rest upon the same support as the legs 12or 13. At the opposite end of the brace D is a head 15. This head has aface which bears upon a plate 16 secured to the rear of the desk A alongthe line where the members 10 and 11 are united. The plate 16 is securedto the desk in any suitable way and is provided with a central slot 17and the material of the desk beneath the plate 16 adjacent to the slot17 is cut away as indicated at 18. This is for the purpose of allowingthe head 19 of bolt 20 to be moved back and forth in the direction ofthe plate 16. The head 19 is positioned beneath the plate 16 by passingit. through an opening 2i at the lower end of slot 17'. The hole 21 andslot 17 together form what is commonly called a key-hole slot. The bolt20 is passed through an opening in theheadlf). of. the leg D and. isthreaded at its outer end for the reception of a nut 22 which has. aknurled outer surface to enable it to be readily screwed home upon thehead 15 to firmly secure the.

leg D' to the desk A. For the purpose of centering the head 15 upon theplate 16, small projections 23 extend from the head 15 into the slot17.. By loosening up the nut 22 the leg D may be drawn downward so as tobring the bolt head 19 opposite the key-hole opening-21. \Vhen thispoint is reached the head will pass readily through the'opening and andthe leg D will be detached from the desk A. A reverse movement with atightening up of the nut 22 in the final position will firmly unite theleg to the desk. By moving the head 15 up and down with reference to.the plate 16 any desired adjustment of the desk may be had. Obviously,other key-hole slot arrangements might be used equal-ly'well and wherethe leg D is composed of wood, might be preferred. Thus, a seriesofkey-hole slots might cooperate with one or more shanks and heads likethose formed by the bolt 20 and head 19. r

The clip E is preferably hinged upon an axis extending lengthwise of theshelfC. In its book-engaging positions the movable clip membermay occupythe positions of primary adjustment shown in full lines in Figs. 5'a-nd6; while in its extreme open position it will occupy the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 5. The movable clip member comprises a centralportion or shank 24 from which the flexible prongs extend outward inopposite directions. The movable clip member, shank 24 and branches 25,is composed of some suitable spring material. Phosphor bronze is verysatisfactory for this purpose. Both the shank and spring prongs give, asthe latter adjust themselves to the opposite pages-of an open book, asindicated by thefull line and dotted line positions of Fig. 2. Thisgiving may be called the secondary adjustment of the clip. It isimportant to note that the shank 24 may be twisted considerably whenthis-secondary adjustment takes place. This is indicated a little by thedotted lines of the shank 24 in Fig.2. The condition shown in thisfigureis an extreme one for the particular book shown. In. other words, it isan extreme one for the secondary adjustment. This is because there arebut a few leaves on the left-hand side of the book while the greaternumber of the leaves are on the righthand side. The dotted position ofthe shank 24 and right-hand prong 25 clearly shows this. Thus themovable member of clip E by occupying the different positionsillustrated in. Figs. 5 and 6, adjusts itself to difi'erentsized booksand then by the twisting of the shank 24 and the flexing of the prongs25, adjusts itself to the inequalities occasioned by opening the book atdifferent pages.

The shank 24 has its lower end riveted, or otherwise secured, to a plate26. The latter is composed of steel or other like material and is morestout than the shank 24. The plate 26 is preferably a punching, curledat one edge to form a sleeve or tube 2-7 and shaped and bent adjacent tothe sleeve to provide depending lugs 28. These parts form a hinge memberwhich cooperates with lugs 30 upon the fixed clip member 32. The lugs 28and 30 are apertured for the passage of a pin 31 which is riveted. atits opposite ends as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. single pivot pin 31might be replaced by two short pins, one for each pair of cooperatinglugs 28 and 30. Thus the two members of the clip are hinged together, ona horizontal axis beneath the shelf C oft ie holder. The memher-32 is inthe form of a plate having a central opening formed in the lugs 30. A.spring plate 34 is secured to Obviously, the

part by striking upthe plate 32 adjacent to the opening 33- and i.

has three spring tongues 35, 36, and 37 extending from it over theopening 33. The plate 34 may be secured to the plate 32 in any suitableway. The spring tongues cooperate with surfaces upon the plate 26 todetermine the setting of the movable member of the clip.

The outer spring tongues 35 and 37 cooperatewith the faces 38 and 39formed upon the plate 26. surfaces which lie substantially parallel withthe surfaces of the spring tongnes 35 and 3? when the latter are underthe least strain. The position of the clip when these parts so engageeach other is the full line position of Fig. 5. While the springtonguesr35 and 37 thus engage the faces 38 and 39, thecentralspringtongue 36 performs no particular function. However, thereis a face 40 upon the movable member which cooperates with the springtongue 36. The face 40 is formed by slitting'a portion of the plate 26at two points and then pressing down the intervening portion to form adifferent angle than the faces 38 and 39. When the movable clip memberis moved into the position shown in'Fig. 6 then the central spring tonue 36 engages the central face 40 and the movable member of the clip isset in its second closing position. Atthe time the spring tongue 36engages the face 40 the corners of theplate 26 adjacent to The surfaces38 and 39 are flat the faces 38 and 39 press against the spring fingers35 and 37 and force them upward but the position of the parts is suchthat these outer spring fingers apply no force tending to move themovable member 24 of the clip. Hence, the parts remain in the positionillustrated in Fig. 6.

' Finally, there is the extreme open position of the clip. This is thedotted line position of Fig. 5. In such position the prongs 25 lie aboveany plane surface joining the feet 12, 13, and 14: and consequently themovable member of the clip is out of the way. Furthermore, the movementof the clip to this position may be accomplished without the prongs 25engaging the surface upon which the device may be resting at the time.While the movable member of theclip is passing backward beneath theshelf the spring tongue 35, 36, and 37 ride upon the curved outersurface of the sleeve 27 and consequently no set positions are providedthrough the cooperation of the spring tongue with fiat surfaces as wasthe case when the full line positions of Figs. and 6 were produced.

It will be apparent that in carrying out my invention some variation maybe made in the details described and shown without departing from thespirit and scope of my invention. I therefore do not wish to be limitedto the exact constructions illustrated and described, but aim to coverby the terms of the appended claims all the variations which rightlycome within the spirit and scope of my invention.

That I claim as new and desire to secure by a patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A book support comprising an inclined desk; a transverse shelf nearthe bottom of said desk; and a book-holding clip having a movable memberhinged to the under side of said shelf upon an axis extending lengthwiseof said shelf, means for yieldingly fixing said movable member in upperand intermediate book-holding positions and in a lower wideopennon-holding position, a shank having its outer end bent upward at anangle to its inner end so as to clear the forward edge of said shelfwhen said clip is rotated about said axis, and two oppositely extendingspring prongs constituting continuations of said shank and operative toengage the opposite leaves of an open book resting upon said desk andshelf, said shank and prongs being yielding toward and away from thebook to suit different numbers of leaves on its opposite sides, and thewhole clip being movable about said axis into a fully open positionbeneath said shelf, the path of movement being at all times above anyfiat support upon which the desk stands.

2. A book support comprising an inclined desk; a transverse shelf nearthe bottom of said desk; the portion of said desk below said shelf beingcut away at its center to provide shank having its outer end bent upwardat an angle to its inner end at a point such as to clear the forwardedge of said shelf when said clip is rotated about said axis, and twooppositely extending spring prongs constituting continuations of saidshank and operative to engage the opposite leaves of an open bookresting upon said desk and shelf, said shank and prongs being bothyielding to and from the book to suit different numbers of leaves on itsopposite sides and movable about said axis into a position beneath saidshelf with parts thereof in said space between said legs, and said pathof movement being at all points above any flat support upon which thedesk stands.

3. A book support comprising an inclined desk; a supporting legadjustably secured to the rear of said desk; legs formed at the lowerend of said desk, thus providing with said first mentioned leg a threepoint contact on a plane surface; a transverse shelf on the front ofsaid desk near its bottom; and a bookholding clip including a platefixed to the under side of said shelf and a plate hinged to said fixedplate upon an axis located beneath said shelf and extending lengthwiseof said shelf, an angular resilient shank secured to said movable plateand extending outward from said axis in a plane at right angles to saidaxis and adapted to extend upward at its outer end beyond the front edgeof said shelf when said clip is in a book-engaging position, oppositelyextending resilient prongs forming continuations of the free end of saidshank and adapted to engage the opposite pages of an open book on saiddesk, said prongs and the free end of said shank being yielding'in thedirection of their travel about said axis, said plate, shank and prongsbeing movable as a unit into different bookholding positions and into alowermost nonengaging position, the latter being beneath said shelf andbetween said desk-formed legs, the path of rotation into said lowermostposition being at all points above a planethrough the three pointcontact furnished by all three legs, and means acting between said fixedand movable plates to yieldingly fix said shank and prongs in saiddifferent book-holding positions and in said lowermost position.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 3rd day ofNovember, A. D.

YBROR ERIC DAHLGREN.

